I gave up my car about a week ago. It's still there, and still runs but I parked it in the garage and closed the door. It will still come out on the weekends, to run up to the shops for a big fortnightly cupboard filler, and the odd family outing, but when it comes to the nine to five Monday to Friday run, it's been permanently decommissioned.
And my decision is entirely based on economics. The price of petrol, and the shear volume of traffic snaking its way down Parramatta Road in the mornings have both become overwhelming. And after years working from home, there's nothing I hate more than wasting time in traffic. This week's petrol budget was spent on pannier bags, and tune up for my once mighty push bike, which is now regaining it's former glory as my principal mode of transport during the week.
About 15 years ago I used to ride my bike to school. I mostly stuck to the back roads, and occasionally rode along the footpath when the roads were too busy. It was about 10 Km round trip and kept me reasonably fit through my adolescence.
About 5 years ago I tried again to ride my bike to work along a similar route. However, thanks to a series of changes to the Sydney road system, it had become very dangerous to commute by bike from the inner west into the city. The roads were much busier, and the pavements were in a terrible condition. There were a few snippets of token bike tracks, but most were full of parked cars, and the drivers didn't seem all that interested in sharing the road with a lonely pushbike.
However, in the last five years there have been a couple of important changes which have made riding to work safer, quicker and far less expensive than any alternative. For a start, the councils in my area, and those in between where I live and the city, have finally got their acts together and created a series of connected, usable bike paths. Rather than snaking my way through the back streets, and on and off major roads, I now have access to a more or less clear run from my place of residence to the city. Rather than spending almost an hour getting frustrated with traffic, and spending on parking and petrol, it takes me about 45 minutes from door to door, with the added bonus of giving me a great regular workout.
The reason I'm telling you all this is because it's a great microcosm of the different factors which need to come into play for us to become more sensible about the way we run our businesses, and live our lives.
First up we need the infrastructure, and the only way that's going to get built is if we manage to elect governments willing to invest in carbon neutral forms of transport, energy creation and agricultural production. In this case the connected, safe and usable bike paths.
Second we need price signals to be allowed to actually guide us in the right direction. This is why the government should NOT intervene to ease the effect of rising oil prices, and not only stop subsidising dirty industries but also integrate their real cost into the cost of supply. Using photovoltaic cells on you roof to generate energy is actually much cheaper to the economy overall, but currently more expensive to the consumer, leading to widespread market failure ie - we opt for the more expensive option at a greater cost to the community. Once carbon trading is introduced, petrol will also probably become far more expensive to the consumer, but this extra cost merely reflects what the real cost should always have been, so we need to stop crying for subsidies, and start thinking about how we need to work our way around these costs.
Third - we need to think globally and act individually. Ultimately we can bitch and moan all we want to, but that's not going to make a fig of difference. Like it or not, dirty power, dirty agriculture, and dirty transport are all going to get more expensive - and if that's the extra impetus we need to change the way we run our lives and do business, then so be it.
And the best part of it all is: the carbon neutral option is also the sexy thighs option - so hop on your bike and get cycling.
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Comments
We need to elect governments that fix infrastructure full stop
I am happy for cyclists to bike their way into work, for whatever reason - but I don't necessarily agree that creating bike paths should be the top priority for councils and governments. How about fixing the quality of main roads for cars, trucks and buses first? Or getting the trains working more efficiently? Carbon neutral or otherwise, we just need to get these basic "problem areas" addressed.
I do agree that cyclists need to have their own space to play in - with all due respect, traffic is already enough of a headache in peak hour without cyclists holding up cars at half the speed limit. I'm not sure if there is a registration tax of some kind for bicycles, but if not, shouldn't there be? Like all other vehicles that use our roads, shouldn't they also be chipping in for their maintenance if they want equal access?
Petrol is a huge issue - figuring out "ways to get around" the costs isn't that easy. Tell that to a family in the outer western suburbs who is already struggling to cope with the cost of living and relies on their car as their primary mode of transport because alternative modes just aren't available or possible. If a car has to be used to get to work, to school, to the shops - or wherever - then people have the right to question and evaluate the costs. It's not really about whingeing or a failure to change the way we run our lives.
Do the metrics...
Sure, the point being the more poeple that cycle the more room there is for people still in cars on the road - and bikes, as they are lighter and less poluting than cars require far less initial infrastructure an ongoing maintanence.
Petrol is really biting now because the issue of alternative modes of transport has been ignored at both a state and federal level and now we're in the position where we need alternatives, and in most cases they just aren't available. I'm lucky with the local bike tracks, but I think the least car drivers can do is make some room for the poor cyclists that are forced to use main thoroughfares, if for no other reason that it's one less car on the road to contribute to traffic and polution.
The problem I see is that roads have been built and continue to be built insted of bike tracks, metro lines, train lines and bus lanes. Some state governments, such as WA seem to be getting it, but most are back in the dark ages when it comes to transport issues.
You're right though, we get the government we deserve. If we really cared about our kid's future we would have long ago voted in governments that were willing to spend on better public transport and bike lanes.
Well, sugar, these are weak arguments
Well sugar, you're missing a few point here. A registration fee for bicycles would mean, if relative to the damage caused compared to cars or even trucks, maybe $0.50-$1.0 per year. The administration costs would be much higher, hence this is a bad idea. BTW - I, as a cyclist, pay council rates and taxes, and a registration fee for my car which stays unused in the garage while I ride my bike past endless lines of cars stuck in traffic.
Have you ever noticed that in 99% of the time it's actually not bicycles slowing down traffic but cars? And yes, I ride my bike in the middle of a lane to avoid being swept from the side. If the government would cater for bicycles by means of dedicated cycle lanes, I wouldn't have to do that. That brings us to the next point - politics.
It's true that we should vote for a government that invests in public transport and has a holistic, long-term vision of a sustainable society. But who, I ask, would you go for? There is no promising party around that seems to be capable of doing the right thing.
But time is on our side - more and more people will ride there bikes because prices will go up in future, regardless of Brendan Nelson and Dr. Garnaut.
Cyclists should be encouraged.
Cyclists should be encouraged, not taxed. Suggesting a registration fee for bicycles is like suggesting we should charge kids to walk to school.
But moving on.
It is unlikely most Australians will ditch the car for the bike. It's just too much hard work. What we desperately need is better infrastructure in the public transport system. Particularly in the outer suburbs and regional areas where there are no trains and the buses are all privatised.
For those of us living in regional areas there is generally no choice except to drive to work, indeed everywhere! It is understable why this is the case in regional areas but absolutely mystifying in our cities and denseley populated suburbs.
So long as using public transport is comparitively difficult and expensive commuters will continue to drive. The government need to provide this basic service. Just imagine how truly beautiful a city Sydney would be with even half the traffic.
Sally Rose
RE:Requiem for my Mazda
So we have to take care about the business whenever we start for the first time. The reason I'm telling you all this is because it's a great microcosm of the different factors which need to come into play for us to become more sensible about the way we run our businesses, and live our lives.
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steve
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